This new attraction is a revival of the original Phantom Theater, which operated in the same location from 1992-2002. In fact, this building has housed several family-friendly attractions since the park’s first season.
In the beginning
When Kings Island was announced in March of 1969, the park was revealed to be a joint venture between Coney Island Inc. and the Taft Broadcasting Company. The latter was the then-owner of Hannah-Barbera Productions, meaning the park would have access to famous cartoons such as The Flintstones and Scooby Doo.
It didn’t take long for the park to utilize these licenses, as it opened in 1972 with the Happy Land of Hanna-Barbera as its dedicated children’s area. The marquee attraction of this land was The Enchanted Voyage, a boat ride taking guests through the worlds of various Hanna-Barbera cartoons.
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
Created with assistance from the animation studio, this ride cost $1.5 million to create, or $11.5 million adjusted for inflation. This was more expensive than the park’s biggest coaster, The Racer, which was priced at $1.2 million, or $9 million adjusted for inflation.
“We’ve designed an attraction that will appeal to all age groups,” said Richard Harsley, the park’s then manager of art, design and special effects, in an April 1972 article of The Tribune. “Grandparents as well as grandchildren will be entertained here. There is no such thing as being too young or too old to appreciate the animation and the scenes.”
The ride experience would begin with guests boarding their boats outside, before traversing into a large façade painted to look like a television.
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
The boat then traveled through the first show scene, depicting a dark, cave-like area with vines and a frog.
Guests would then pass an 8-foot-tall recreation of Gary Gulliver from the cartoon “The Adventures of Gulliver.” The giant would be seen performing a wedding for the miniature inhabitants of Lilliput.
The next scene in the ride would be based on “The Hillbilly Bears,” and feature the titular characters playing instruments. This was followed by a large show scene featuring an octopus, a whale and the duo of Shaggy and Scooby Doo.
Guests then travel through Winsom Witch’s hut, filled with bats, ghouls and skeletons.
The last area of the ride was themed to a giant circus, featuring characters from “The Banana Splits.” Passing through the large mouth of a clown, the ride ended up back at the loading dock.
In addition to the dozens of moving animatronics, the ride utilized special film projectors to enhance the show scenes with animated illusions.
The ride is also remembered for its theme song, which would play throughout the 4.5-minute experience. The song was orchestrated by Hanna-Barbera music producer Paul De Korte, while the melody was written by William Hanna and the lyrics were created by Coney Island executive Dennis Spiegel.
The ride would last through the 1970s and into the 1980s, long after many of the featured cartoons had been cancelled. This coincided with the release of a widely popular cartoon by Hanna-Barbera, one Kings Island was keen on capitalizing on.
Enter The Smurfs
Created in 1958 by Pierre “Peyo” Culliford, The Smurfs are small blue creatures who live in a fantasy world. In 1981, these characters would get their own Hanna-Barbera cartoon series, which launched them into hearts of kids across the world.
Kings Island would introduce them into the park with a stage show in 1983, however the true “Smurf Takeover” would happen the next year, when the park would completely retheme The Enchanted Voyage to the cartoon.
Utilizing the same boat track as previous iteration, The Smurf’s Enchanted Voyage took guests on a ride through a year in the show’s world.
As guests enter Smurf forest, they are met with a large animatronic of Gargamel, the cartoon’s antagonist, plotting to capture the Smurfs. Guests would then get their first glimpses of Smurf Village, complete with a number of animatronics singing their iconic theme.
The ride would then travel into summer, showcasing the Smurfs relaxing, fishing and even competing in a sack race.
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
Nightfall then falls upon the forest, as autumn is represented with another appearance from Gargamel, accompanied by organ music.
The ride continued into the final area of the ride, themed to winter. Papa Smurf makes an appearance, facing off against Gargamel, who has captured the other Smurfs in an ice cave.
The Smurfs are then seen celebrating Christmas time by building snowmen, ice skating and decorating the village. The ride would end with The Smurfs surrounding a large Christmas Tree, putting up lights and holding presents.
The ride was accompanied by a stage show, alongside places where guests could get photos with the characters.
Kings Island also renamed its blue ice cream, introduced in 1982 as Huckleberry Hound Blueberry, to the Smurf Cone.
As with the original version of the ride, The Smurf’s Enchanted Voyage outlasted the popularity of the cartoon it was based on. The original Smurfs show ended in 1989 after low ratings, and by 1991 it was clear a change was necessary.
Instead of simply retheming the ride to whatever cartoon was popular at the time, park officials decided to complete overhaul the attraction, complete with an original theme.
Maestro steals the show
With the help of Morgan Manufacturing and R&R Creative, Kings Island removed the boat track and replaced it with one inspired by the onmimover ride system, famous for its use in Disney rides such the Haunted Mansion.
While Morgan was responsible for the technical aspects of the ride, R&R Creative designed the story, characters and show scenes. The team, lead by Rick Bastrup and Richard Ferrin, envisioned an attraction taking guests through an abandoned opera house, complete with a variety of spooky ghouls and ghosts. These concepts would eventually lead to the fan-favorite attraction Phantom Theater, which opened in 1992.
Instead of waiting outdoors, the queue for Phantom Theater was inside the show building. Themed to the lobby of the opera house, the ghoulish Maestro would play his organ above guests, occasionally berating those below.
The ride itself would begin with Maestro welcoming guests to the show, before they pass by a series of portraits depicting The Great Garbazno, Houdelini and other performers. These paintings then seemed to “disappear,” revealing the ghostly form of each subject.
Various scenes then played out for riders. This includes Houdelini pulling a demonic rabbit out a hat, two stagehands tangled in rope and an usher seemingly floating above the ground.
After this, guests passed various props which had come to life, including a mummy in a sarcophagus and a gargoyle.
The finale took place in the theater’s boiler room, complete with workers shoveling coal into a large furnace.
Like the previous iterations, Phantom Theater would remain unchanged for approximately a decade, before closing for yet another refurbishment. This time, featuring a familiar face.
After the ride’s closure, various animatronics were used as decorations for the park’s Fearfest event, now known as Halloween Haunt.
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
The return of those meddling kids
In the early 2000s, the Scooby Doo franchise saw a surge in popularity, due to films such as “Scooby Doo on Zombie Island” and the 2002 live-action movie. Kings Island would capitalize on the excitement by closing Phantom Theater, replacing it with the interactive Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle.
Instead of just watching the attraction’s show scenes, riders are now armed with blasters they can use to shoot targets scattered throughout the layout.
“It will be a unique experience, one that will be different every time,” said David Mandt, the park’s then-media relations manager, in a July 2002 Cincinnati Post article. “It takes the great part of the experience of Phantom Theater and makes it more fun.”
As guests enter the now-castle themed show building, they are met with cutouts of Scooby Doo and Shaggy popping out where the Maestro once performed.
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
The ride begins outside the manor, with the Scooby gang hiding from ghosts, vultures, mummies and other spooky creatures. As the ride travels inside, they are met with a series of portraits inspired by Phantom Theater, utilizing the same “disappearing” effect.
Guests would then travel through a series of rooms, with each containing props which reacted when hit by guests. This includes a kitchen area, a dining room and a hallway where Scooby and Shaggy get chased by a masked monster.
The ride also depicts a scene of a hooded Shaggy playing an organ, another reference to the ride’s predecessor.
Several more scenes would play out, before the rides ends outside the castle walls with the villains captured. Guests can then check their scores to see how they did and exit the ride.
After Kings Island’s then parent company, Paramount Parks, was purchased by Cedar Fair in 2006, the park would go through the process of rebranding its rides to remove certain licenses. This would affect attractions such as Top Gun, which would be renamed to Flight Deck, and Tomb Raider: The Ride, which was changed to The Crypt.
Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle would remain in the park until 2009, when it would receive a small retheme and renovation.
The rise of Boocifer
Boo Blasters on Boo Hill would open in 2010, and feature the same ride system and layout as Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle. However, the ride had a new antagonist, Boocifer. He would appear throughout the ride, taunting guests.
Some scenes were also altered, such as the Shaggy figure being replaced with a generic tourist.
Credit: Contributed photo
Credit: Contributed photo
The ride’s finale was also changed, as guests had to battle an army of skeletons sent by Boocifer. He would then be thwarted by guests and fall down a well, ending the ride.
Boo Blasters on Boo Hill would last the longest of any attraction in the building. It would close for good in September 2025 to make way for Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare, scheduled to open in 2026.
Kings Island is located at 6300 Kings Island Drive, in Kings Mills. For more information, check out visitkingsisland.com
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